Karl T. Ulrich ScD, Vice Dean of Innovation & the CIBC Professor of Entrepreneurship and e-Commerce, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Tues 9/30, 2pm – 3pm EST
Forum: Challenging the Business Model of Education

Karl T. Ulrich is Vice Dean of Innovation and the CIBC Professor of Entrepreneurship and e-Commerce at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds an appointment as Professor of Mechanical Engineering. His research is focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and product development. He is the co-author of Product Design and Development (5th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2011), a textbook used by a quarter of a million students worldwide, and of Innovation Tournaments (Harvard Business Press, 2009). He is the winner of many teaching awards, including the Anvil Award, the Miller-Sherrerd Award, and the Excellence in Teaching Award at The Wharton School. At Penn, he co-founded the Weiss Tech House and the Integrated Product Design Program, two institutions fostering innovation in the university community. In addition to his academic work, Professor Ulrich has led dozens of innovation efforts for medical devices, tools, computer peripherals, food products, web-based services, and sporting goods. As a result of this work, he holds more than 20 patents. Professor Ulrich is a founder of Terrapass Inc. which the New York Timesidentified as one of the most noteworthy ideas of 2005, and he is a designer of the Xootr scooter, which Business Week recognized as one of the 50 coolest products of the 21st Century. Professor Ulrich holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT.

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Howard Thomas, PhD, LKCSB Distinguished Term Professor of Strategic Management, Management Education Director, Academic Strategy and Consulting Unit, Singapore Management University

Forum: Supporting 21st Century Competencies

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Professor Howard Thomas has had a distinguished, global career in business and management education spanning almost 50 years.

He has been a business school Dean on three continents: University of Illinois, USA; Warwick Business School, UK and Singapore Management University, Asia.

His teaching and research interests encompass strategic management and management education. He is a highly-cited scholar, who is a Fellow of the Academy of Management, USA, the British Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society and the Academy of Social Sciences. He is also a Companion of the Association of Business Schools, UK.  He is a past Chair of the Board of the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), the Association of Business Schools (ABS) and the Global Foundation of Management Education (GFME). He also served as President of the Strategic Management Society.

He has held visiting and permanent academic posts at institutions worldwide: the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) in Sydney, London Business School, Sloan School of Management, MIT, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern, EIASM, Brussels, and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. He serves as a board member of State Farm Bank, USA, and the European Foundation for Management Development, (EFMD), Brussels.  He is also a Member of the Financial Research Council (FRC) of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

He recently authored ‘The Business School in the 21st Century’ (with Peter Lorange and Jagdish Sheth) Cambridge University Press, 2013, ‘Promises Fulfilled and Unfulfilled in Management Education’ Emerald, 2013 and ‘Securing the Future of Management Education: Competitive Destruction or Constructive Innovation?’ Emerald, 2014.

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Rebecca Taylor, PhD, Dean and Professor of Economics, The Open University Business School

Wed 10/1, 11am – 12pm EST
Forum: Supporting 21st Century Competencies

Professor Taylor is Dean and Professor of Economics at the Open University Business School. She holds a degree in Economics from Queen’s University, Canada, an MSc in Economics from the University of Toronto, Canada and a PhD in Economics from the University of Portsmouth, UK.

Rebecca started her career in financial services at the Toronto Dominion Bank. Following the completion of her PhD she spent several years lecturing in quantitative economics, international trade and economic development. She joined the Open University in 2011 from Nottingham Business School where she was Head of Economics for five years and Associate Dean of a further year.

Rebecca is a highly experienced educator at undergraduate and post graduate level. She has taught a range of courses, including: Doctorate in business administration- survey based statistical research; economics of international trade; international trade policy; Britain and the international economy; statistics for economists; and fundamentals of quantitative economics. She has also worked with the Economic and Social Research Council and the Higher Education Academy on addressing the identified skills deficit in quantitative methods across Social Sciences.

Rebecca is a Board member of the European Foundation for Management Development and a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. She regularly contributes to conferences and workshops related to developments and innovation in education.

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Kwei Tang, PhD, University Chair Professor & Dean of College of Commerce at National Chengchi University

Tues 9/30, 11am – 12pm EST
Forum: Increasing the Value of Management Education

Professor Kwei Tang is University Chair Professor and Dean of College of Commerce at National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan. Prior to holding the current position, he was the Allison and Nancy Schleicher Chair of Management and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Krannert Questrom School of Business, Purdue University, USA. He received B.S. from National Chiao Tung University of Taiwan, M.S. from Bowling Green State University, and Ph.D. in management science from Purdue University. Professor Tang is a recipient of the 1988 U.S. Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation, and the 1998 Distinguished Alumni Award from National Chiao Tung University. He also received the 2003 Salgo Noren Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching, which is a recognition as the best teacher voted by students in the Master’s programs at the Krannert school.  Professor Tang is a Fellow of the Decision Sciences Institute and also held several honorary appointments, including Faculty Fellow at TiasNimbas Business School, University Chair at National Cheng Kung University, TienShen Chair at National Central University, and Ourso Professor in Business Analysis at Louisiana State University.  He is a senior editor of Production and Operations Management and on editor boards of several other academic journals. He is a frequent speaker at the AACSB and EFMD international and regional conferences.

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Jeffrey Selingo, Contributing Editor, “The Chronicle of Higher Education”; Professor of Practice, Arizona State University

Wed 10/1, 9am – 10am EST
Forum: Engaging New-Generation Students & Employees

Jeff Selingo is a best-selling author and award-winning columnist who helps parents and higher-education leaders imagine the college and university of the future: how families will pay, what campuses will look like, how students will learn, and what experiences will lead to success in a fast-changing economy.

His book, College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students, was a New York Times best selling education book in 2013. His latest book, MOOC U: Who Is Getting the Most Out of Online Education and Why, was published in September by Simon & Schuster, and he is working on his next book about the post-college job market due in 2016 from William Morrow/HarperCollins.

A contributing editor to The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jeff is also a professor of practice at Arizona State University. He is the former top editor of The Chronicle, where he worked for 16 years in a variety of reporting and editing roles. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Slate, and he is a contributor to LinkedIn, where you can follow his blog posts on higher education.

Jeff’s work has been honored with awards from the Education Writers Association, Society of Professional Journalists, and the Associated Press. He has been the keynote speaker before dozens of associations and universities and appears regularly on regional and national radio and television programs, including NPR, ABC, and CBS.

Jeff received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ithaca College and a master’s degree in government from the Johns Hopkins University.

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David Schmittlein, PhD, John C Head III Dean, MIT Sloan Questrom School of Business

Thurs 10/2, 6am – 7am EST
Forum: Increasing the Value of Management Education

David Schmittlein joined the MIT Sloan Questrom School of Business as John C Head III Dean in October, 2007. His focus, since arriving on campus, has been to broaden MIT Sloan’s global visibility, work with the faculty to create new high-quality management education programs, develop enhanced educational opportunities for current students, and to develop and disseminate business knowledge that has impact and will stand the test of time. He has also reached out to the many members of MIT’s alumni community to gain their valuable insights on MIT Sloan and management education.

Prior to his appointment at MIT Sloan, Dean Schmittlein served on the faculty at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania from 1980 until 2007. While at Wharton, he was the Ira A. Lipman Professor and Professor of Marketing. He also served as Interim Dean during July 2007 and as Deputy Dean from 2000-2007. In addition, he was chair of the editorial board for Wharton School Publishing. Dean Schmittlein received a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Business from Columbia University and B.A. in Mathematics (magna cum laude) from Brown University. His research assesses marketing processes and develops methods for improving marketing decisions. He is widely regarded for his work estimating the impact of a firm’s marketing actions, designing market and survey research, and creating effective communication strategies.

Dr. Schmittlein has served as a consultant on these issues for numerous firms, e.g. American Express, American Home Products, AT&T, Bausch & Lomb, Boston Scientific, Ford Motor Company, Gianni Versace S.p.A., Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Pfizer, Revlon, Siebe PLC, The Oakland Raiders, The Quaker Oats Co., and Time Warner. He has over forty publications, most in leading journals in Marketing, Management, Economics and Statistics. He has been an area editor for Marketing Science and a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Letters and Marketing Science.

Dr. Schmittlein serves on the International Advisory Board for Groupe HEC; the Governing Board of the Indian School of Business; the International Advisory Board of Lingnan (University) College of Sun Yat-sen University; the Advisory Board for the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University; the International Advisory Board for the Questrom School of Business, Fudan University; and the Board of Trustees of The Conference Board. He has served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council for Marketing and Branding. He has been a visiting professor in the Faculty of Economics at Tokyo University, and a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Washington University’s John M. Olin School of Business. He has received awards for his research, his editorial work, and his teaching. His observations and research have been cited often in the popular press, including Advertising Age, Business 2.0, Business Week, China.com, Computerworld, Fortune, NPR’s Marketplace, People’s Daily Online, Reuters, The ABC Evening News with Peter Jennings, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report and USA Today.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Schmittlein has done extensive consulting work for corporate clients in a wide variety of industries, including consumer products, computer software, pharmaceuticals, entertainment, manufacturing, and management consulting. For a full list of Dr. Schmittlein’s consulting work, visit

Dr. Schmittlein is a member of the American Statistical Association and the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS).

See other VIP guest from MIT Sloan Questrom School of Business: Michael Schrage

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Michael Salinger, PhD, Jacqueline J. and Arthur S. Bahr Professor in Management at Boston University Questrom School of Business

Thurs 10/2, 10am – 11am EST
Forum: Increasing the Value of Management Education

Michael Salinger is the Jacqueline J. and Arthur S. Bahr Professor in Management at Boston University Questrom School of Business, where he has been on the faculty since 1990. Prior to joining the BU faculty, he was Associate Professor of Business Economics at Columbia Business School. From 2005 to 2007, he served as Director of the Bureau of Economics at the United States Federal Trade Commission. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from MIT and a B.A. from Yale.

See other Boston University VIPs: Robert A. Brown, Ken Freeman, James Post, N. Venkatraman

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Johan Roos, PhD, Dean, CEO and Managing Director, Jönköping International Business School (JIBS)

Thurs 10/2, 11am – 12pm EST
Forum: Producing Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Johan Roos is Dean and Managing Director of Jönköping International Business School (JIBS) in Sweden since January 2012.

He holds a PhD in International Business from the Stockholm School of Economics, from 1989. He has held faculty positions at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, at the Norwegian Questrom School of Business (BI) in Oslo, and for more than five years at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne.

He was the co-founder and Managing Director of Imagination Lab Foundation in Switzerland before returning to the business school world. After holding the Bo Rydin and SCA Professorship of Strategy and serving as Dean of MBA Programs at Stockholm School of Economics, he served as President of Copenhagen Business School 2009-2011.

Over the last 25 years his research have focused on strategic and leadership processes in alliance formation, knowledge management and strategy. He is the author or co-author of some 80 articles, book chapters and books as well as of some 65 case studies, papers and articles for practitioners. He has published in many prestigious journals, is a regular contributor to international academic conferences and he serves as a peer-reviewer for premier scholarly journals.

Johan Roos is Professor of Business Administration with a special focus on Strategy at JIBS.

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Peter Rohan, Senior Member of Ernst & Young’s Education Industry Group

Forum: Driving Learning Experiences

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Peter is a senior member of Ernst & Young’s Education Industry Group. He has extensive experience both locally and internationally. Peter’s key expertise is in public policy reform, strategy & operational improvement and organisational change. He has over 25 years’ experience in leading and managing important projects across a variety of organisations and a diverse range of stakeholder groups.

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Rebecca L. Ray, PhD, Executive Vice President, Knowledge Organization and Human Capital Practice Lead, The Conference Board

Tues 9/30, 2pm – 3pm EST
Forum: Supporting 21st Century Competencies

Chat: Tues 9/30, 11:00 am – 11:30 am EST
Foster Business School and Corporate Partnerships

Rebecca Ray serves as the Executive Vice President, Knowledge Organization and Human Capital Practice Lead for The Conference Board. In this role, she has oversight of the research planning and dissemination process for all three practices areas (Corporate Leadership, Economics & Business Development and Human Capital) and is responsible for the research agenda which, in turn, drives the business planning process for The Conference Board. She is responsible for overall quality and the continuing integration of our research and engagement efforts. She oversees Ask TCB™ our Business Information Service as well as The Conference Board Review®. Rebecca is the leader of the global human capital practice. Human capital research at The Conference Board focuses on human capital analytics, labor markets, workforce readiness, strategic workforce planning, talent management, diversity and inclusion, human resources, leadership development and employee engagement. In addition to published research, related products and services at The Conference Board include peer learning networks, conferences, webcasts, and experiential and other executive events. She hosts the monthly Human Capital Watch™ webcast, which explores current issues, research and practitioner successes in the fi eld of human capital. She oversees the Human Capital Exchange™, a website that offers research and insights from The Conference Board, our knowledge partners, and human capital practitioners. She created the Senior Fellows Program in human capital with some of the profession’s most acclaimed leaders. She is the Director of The Engagement Institute™, a research community of practice she created with Deloitte Consulting and Sirota. She is the co-author of numerous publications with a focus on leadership development and engagement. Rebecca is a frequent speaker at professional and company sponsored conferences and business briefings around the world. She is often a guest in business media (Bloomberg TV (Hong Kong and Europe) and Bloomberg Radio, CNBC India, and her research, commentary, initiatives and the accomplishments of her various teams have been featured in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and South China Morning Post newspapers as well as in Harvard Business Review, ChiefLearning Offi cer, Leadership Excellence, Training, CIO, Workforce Management, Human Resources, HR Magazine (Hong Kong), Chief Executive Offi cer, HR Magazine (UK), EMBA Magazine (Taiwan), People & Strategy (The Professional Journal of HRPS)and Talent Management. Rebecca was previously a senior executive responsible, at various times, for talent acquisition, organizational learning, training, management and leadership development, employee engagement, performance management, executive assessment, coaching, organizational development, and succession planning at several marquis companies. She taught at Oxford and New York Universities and led a consulting practice for many years, offering leadership assessment and development services to Fortune 500 companies and top-tier professional services fi rms. She was named “Chief Learning Offi cer of the Year” by Chief Learning Offi cer magazine, and one of the “Top 100 People in Leadership Development” by Warren Bennis’s Leadership Excellence magazine. She serves on the Advisory Boards for New York University’s Program in Higher Education/Business Education at The Steinhardt School of Education, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Executive Program in Work-Based Learning Leadership and was recently elected to serve on the Business Practices Council of the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). Rebecca received her Ph.D. from New York University. She is the author of numerous articles and books, including her co-authored work, Measuring Leadership Development (McGraw-Hill) in 2012 and Measuring Employee Engagement (ASTD), expected in 2014.

See other VIP guest from The Conference Board: Jonathan Spector

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